CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
Media has a role to play in the struggle for gender transformation and bridging gap between social identities of woman an man. Communication studies, even of the radical critical tendency, have long seemed to be largely gender blind (perhaps more a matter of unwillingness to see), one can now justifiably, speak of a culture feminist media studies project (Van Zoonen 1991; 1994: Gallagher 2003). The relationship between media and women has a certain structure where woman is trapped as an object.
The role of women in media-decision making is reflected in the poor representation of women issues and concerns. The drastically changing media (Print) can be seen through years or especially in post-liberalization period,media has become market-oriented. Media-market on one hand has expanded opportunities for women but the kind of ‘beats’ or ‘job’ are assigned to women journalist is to keep them confined to soft-beat (Tomar Ranu 2009) like handling feature writing or shallow writings.
The reconstruction and representation of gender issue is dealt within patriachal discourse of the media. The question of gender touches almost every aspect of the media-culture relationship. Van Zoonen (1991) writes that the meaning of gender is never given but varies according to specific culture and historical setting…is subject to ongoing discursive struggle and negotiation (p45).
Here important issue is professional inequality which is embedded in media and is strongly based on social differences between man and womanj. The exclusion and oppression of women by transnational corporations is translated into media representation and employment.
To address these issues UNESCO commissioned major review of the literature worldwide related to women and media (Gallagher 1981). Gallagher (1981) notes that her review-present a picture remarkable only for its over all consistency when compared from one country to another (p 70). The report offers considerable evidence in support of conclusion that is: representation of women can best be described as narrow.
On film, press and the broadcast media, women activities and interests typically go no further than the confines of home and family. Characterized as essentially dependent. Both as characters in fictional media material and as newsmakers in the press and broadcasting, women are numerically under representation-and absence which underlines their marginal and inferior staus in many spheres of social, economic and culture lives. Prevalent news values define most women and most women’ problem as unnewsworthy, admitting women to coverage primarily as wives, mother or daughters of men in the news: in their own right, they make the headline usually only as fashionable or entertainment figures.
Meanwhile since the general public cannot be in all places at the same tme. Journalists through the media bring the world closest by reporting politics, sport, disasters even in far away China, UK, US, Russia e. t. c within some seconds.
Journalism is the nose, eye, mouth, ear of the public who help the public to see what is happening, to findout where it is happening, to help public to ask question on what they want to know from the people involved and to feed them as quickly as possible.
Image life without information, without news and without mass media and journalists.
Journalism is the collection, preparation and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such media as pamphlets, newsletter, magazines, radio, motion pictures, television, the internet and books.
Journalism is one saddled with the responibility of finding facts, writing news, editing news and other editorial materials that are worthy of public interest for presentation. Journalist work in a radio, television, newspaper, magazine, online news blog/ website e. t. c.
The earliest known journalists product was a newssheet in ancient Rome called the ACTA DIURNA published daily from 59 BC, it was hung in prominent places and recorded important social and political events.
Journalism in the 20th century was marked by a growing sense of professionalism. In our society today it has been observed that there is gender disparity in all quarters, mass media is not an exception yet women journalists have contributed significantly to the development and success of jornalism locally and internationally espcially in the broadcast media where they serve as newscasters, presenters and reporters.
Journalism can be a very dangerous job in particular for women reporters who expose injustices in hostile, corrupt and violent environments and in war zones. In addition to the different forms of violence against journalists, both men and women, and obstacles to their work, including threats, murder, confiscation of material, deportation, arrests and intimidation, female journalists face certain gendered risks within this male dominated profession.
Despite, the challenges facing women journalists all over the world yet they are contributing trimendously to the development of the media industry and broadcast media in particular.